Profile: Continuous innovation in rail applications
The business unit Amorim Cork Composites (ACC) is part of the Amorim Group, which has been established for over 160 years. ACC is a global company committed to developing and manufacturing sustainable, environmentally minded, cork-based products for different industries and applications.
The secret to product development at ACC is in taking advantage of cork’s unique morphology and chemical composition, an air-filled closed-cell structure often termed ‘Nature’s foam’. Each cell is a multisided polyhedron filled with air, and each cubic centimetre contains about 40 million cells, meaning that cork is made up of more gas (90%) than solid matter, resulting in a number of immediate features, including thermal resistance and a distinct compressibility and recovery characteristic. Cork is also lightweight. These attributes and others, as well as ACC’s extensive knowhow in polymer formulation and technology and application engineering, on top of a background as a multi-industry solution provider, drives ACC in a constant innovation culture.
The present in railway
ACC R&D activities have led to innovative products and systems in the transportation sector such as the ALUCORK floor system specially designed for rail applications. ALUCORK is already replacing the traditional heavy plywood panels; it is a sandwich panel made of a CORECORK™ core in a sandwich system with aluminium skins, increasing acoustic and thermal insulation and significantly reducing weight, as well as an improved assembly performance compared to the alternatives. CORECORK is also used for other railway interior components embedded in FRP interior panels (ceiling and window masks), achieving the same benefits as mentioned above.
The future in railway
Once again ACC is engaged in developing and extending its solutions in the railway interior sector in modular components. An innovative project with several Portuguese companies, e.Toilet, aims to develop new concepts for train toilet modules, focusing on comfort and functionality, safety-centred design, sustainable materials and eco-efficient solutions, and, more importantly for ACC, the development and manufacturing of composite materials using a CORECORK material core, enabling compliance with continuous weight reduction demands and the stringent technical requirements of the rail transport industry.
Flame spread, smoke density and toxicity tests have been carried out on the module composite structure (using a CORECORK material core), demonstrating compliance with NF F-16-101 to M1 F1, as well as to EN438-2, regarding resistance to impact and mechanical resistance to static loading. Besides maintaining the high standards of the railway industry, the incorporation of CORECORK core material in the composite allows for a decrease in the module weight of approximately 40%, a direct benefit to producers, who realise a gain in production costs, reducing CO2 emissions during manufacturing, and consequently for the operator due to the weight reduction, providing eco-efficient, sustainable railway interior products.
At Amorim Cork Composites continuous innovation and sustainability, using renewable and natural resources for demanding industries such as rail transport, means bringing benefits throughout the supply chain up to the end user.
João Fernandes
Application Engineering
tel. +351 (0)22 747 5300
